Bank of America Corp DE Increases Stock Holdings in First Bancorp $FBNC

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 15.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 214,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,251 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.52% of First Bancorp worth $12,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. SouthState Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 13,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 22,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,241,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 5.1% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 7,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBNC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on First Bancorp from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on First Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Brean Capital began coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $65.75 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.94.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $64.70 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $63.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. First Bancorp has a one year low of $45.96 and a one year high of $66.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09 and a beta of 0.81.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $127.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $126.07 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 11.31%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Company Profile

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services. Its core offerings include business lending, treasury and cash management, residential and commercial mortgage financing, and consumer deposit products. Through its subsidiary, First Bank provides online and branch-based banking solutions, including checking and savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and digital banking tools designed to meet the needs of individuals, small- to mid-sized businesses, and professional institutions.

The company maintains a network of full-service banking centers and loan production offices across North Carolina and South Carolina, with a focus on markets in the Piedmont, Sandhills and coastal regions.

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